ESA's Hera mission is bringing two CubeSats along. They'll be landing on Dimorphos
Friday, 03 November 2023 14:33
In about one year from now, the European Space Agency will launch its Hera mission. Its destination is the asteroid Didymos, and it'll be the second human spacecraft to visit the 390-meter chunk of rock. NASA's DART mission crashed a kinetic impactor into Didymos' tiny moonlet Dimorphos as a test of planetary defense.
Hera will perform a follow-up investigation of the binary asteroid to measure the size and morphology of the impact crater on Dimorphos. To help it along, it's taking two tiny CubeSats that will land on Dimorphos.
It might seem strange that two tiny satellites will perform landings on an asteroid. But Hera is designed to fulfill different goals. First of all, it's part of the ESA's Planetary Defense program.
Revealing the Startup of the Year finalists for the SpaceNews 2023 Icon Awards
Friday, 03 November 2023 13:34
Week in images: 30 October - 03 November 2023
Friday, 03 November 2023 13:10
Week in images: 30 October - 03 November 2023
Discover our week through the lens
Preparing for Euclid’s first images: from puzzling data to dazzling views
Friday, 03 November 2023 09:30
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Never before has a telescope been able to create such razor-sharp astronomical images across such a large patch of the sky.
On Tuesday 7 November, ESA will release the first full-colour images captured by its recently launched Euclid space telescope. These images form part of the mission’s ‘Early Release Observations’ – where Euclid was tasked with scrutinising a set of celestial targets chosen for their public appeal and scientific value.
The five images are full of cosmic secrets waiting to be revealed. And this is just the beginning. During its six-year mission, Euclid will generate the equivalent of a
Ken Mattingly, astronaut who helped Apollo 13 crew return safely home, dies at age 87
Friday, 03 November 2023 09:11
TAP Lab Accelerator aims to transition space domain prototypes to commercial products
Friday, 03 November 2023 08:17
On October 28, Space Systems Command (SSC) rolled out its Technology, Applications, and Process (TAP) Lab Accelerator program aimed at enhancing Space Domain Awareness (SDA). Launched in Colorado Springs, the event was backed by Virginia Tech's Applied Research Corporation (VT-ARC) and MITRE Corporation and attracted over 200 participants from various sectors. The occasion served to highlight th HawkEye 360 secures $12M contract from NIWC Pacific for Maritime Awareness
Friday, 03 November 2023 08:17
HawkEye 360 Inc. has clinched a $12.25 million Phase II contract from the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific. The deal focuses on sharing space-based radio frequency (RF) data, analytics, and training with partner nations in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. This information-sharing initiative will be executed through SeaVision, a multinational data-sharing platform already ut SDA Awards Northrop Grumman $732 Million Satellite Contract
Friday, 03 November 2023 08:17
In a significant stride toward augmenting space-based connectivity for military operations, the Space Development Agency (SDA) has entrusted Northrop Grumman Corporation with a substantial $732 million agreement. This contract is set to advance the Tranche 2 Transport Layer - Alpha (T2TL-Alpha) of the agency's low-Earth orbit Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), with 38 newly commi NASA completes key step in aviation safety research
Friday, 03 November 2023 08:17
NASA's aeronautical innovators have completed a significant step in their pursuit of safer, more efficient aviation technologies that spot hazards before they occur. Through its System-Wide Safety project, NASA and its partners in government, industry, and academia are exploring new technologies and techniques to improve current aviation safety and potentially enable widespread use of new types Dinosaurs likely brought down by dust, not asteroid, researchers say
Friday, 03 November 2023 08:17
A new study suggests that a prolonged dust cloud may have played a larger role than previously thought in the extinction of dinosaurs approximately 66 million years ago.
A study published in Nature Geoscience on Monday suggests that finely ground dust, resulting from the impact of The Chicxulub asteroid, which was ejected into Earth's atmosphere, may have had a more substantial impact t Earth from Space: Lake Maracaibo
Friday, 03 November 2023 08:00
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The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo, the largest natural body of water in South America. Apollo astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly dies aged 87
Friday, 03 November 2023 06:57
A NASA astronaut who was removed from the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission but helped bring its crew back home safely thanks to his problem-solving efforts from ground control has died at the age of 87.
Thomas K. "TK" Mattingly passed away on October 31, the space agency said in a statement Thursday.
His most dramatic role came when he was assigned as command module pilot for the Apollo 13 fl